Mass Effect... 5? Trailer Analysis
THE MAD LADS DID IT! We have a (teaser) trailer for the NEXT Mass Effect!
I did a mini-dive analysis into the latest trailer that was revealed at The Game Awards. Below is the transcript for the video listed above. Please enjoy! The next thing I’ll be working on is the Dragon Age trailer that was revealed at the same time.
With love, Ashe
Never did I think for a second that I'd be doing a trailer analysis of a Mass Effect video this year, but HERE. WE. ARE. Hi, I'm Ashe! And welcome-welcome back to my channel. Let's do this thing.
During The Game Awards, BioWare revealed a new teaser for the next Mass Effect. Technically two, both the next Mass Effect and the next Dragon Age. Both were regarded as debut teaser trailers by the official BioWare Twitter, which is a little bit strange considering Dragon Age has already had its "debut" a few years back, but that discussion will be reserved for the next Dragon Age trailer analysis coming up on this channel.
The next Mass Effect doesn't have an official name, but since BioWare wrote the tag in their own video, I'm referring to it from here on out as Mass Effect 5.
The trailer intentionally opens with two galaxies — both the Milky Way and Andromeda. In case you don't follow me on Twitter, one of the theories I mentioned there is that because of the confirmation that Project Director Mike Gamble posted regarding the galaxies, there is a theory that this trailer confirms the next game is a sequel to both the Mass Effect trilogy and Mass Effect: Andromeda. Super ambitious, but we'll discuss this more in-depth later in this vid.
Let's do a run of the trailer itself.
The trailer plays a number of voice messages, which all seem to be chronologically sorted. It starts with an audio clip from "The War of the Worlds".
Following, an audio clip from the Apollo 11 landing. The line fired here is before Buzz Aldrin encountered computer problems during the descent.
Later is a mention of Arcturus Station, and what is likely the first record of when Humans encountered the Turians... leading up to the First Contact War.
Afterward, the line is "Humanity now stands as partners in the galaxy." This line likely is sourced within Mass Effect 1's timeline, around the appointing of the first human Councilor on the Citadel Council.
"Ark 6 is away. Godspeed." This clip fires noticeably earlier than the next Reaper clip. Ark 6 is most likely related to the Andromeda Initiative, which had the multiple arks and the main Nexus station headquarters launch prior to the Reaper War. Among the community, there is a little bit of argument regarding what Ark 6 is, as it's questioned whether the Nexus counts as one of the Arks, or Ark 6 is a completely new Ark we did not know about. Based off the original Andromeda Initiative training vids, I personally argue the Nexus does not count as an Ark. It's always been said the arks were Human, Turian, Asari, Salarian, and Quarian. These ships have always been referred to as the Arks and the Nexus. That being said, whatever is being carried in Ark 6 and its relevance in the next game is something to watch out for.
The next amalgamation of sound clips definitely stems from the Reaper War and the events of Mass Effect 3. In every instance of the ending except Refusal, both high EMS and low EMS, the Mass Relays are overloaded and/or destroyed. And we see one in this part.
"Is anyone receiving this? We've lost contact." There's two possible ways this can be interpreted. One is that this line fires after Shepard's choice at the end of Mass Effect 3. Another is when the Andromeda Initiative didn't receive any word from the Milky Way, as mentioned during the events of ME:A. That said, the initial line is very generic and can be bent to serve any purpose, really.
The last voices heard in the trailer is a blend of audio, purposefully obscured to hide what its contents are. This is purely my take, but there are three to four distinct sounds I pinpointed from this section: a feminine voice, marching, and 1 to 2 masculine voices. The feminine voice says something along the lines of "Anomaly readings all across the space". The marching sounds like boots on the ground, as if some military ground unit is present. And the masculine voice or voices... well. It's very hard to determine because these two lay on top of each other. The first part sounds like they're saying "the infection" or "the defection". Immediately followed is something that sounds like either "of Horizon" or "Uprising". My best guess is that when it plays, it sounds as if a voice is saying "the infection of Horizon" The latter also may be a different masculine voice that was tacked on to the first part, to either mislead or confuse, which BioWare definitely achieved here.
Okay, to catch some of you up to speed: a book recently came out called BioWare: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development. It covers almost all of BioWare's history, from its founding all the way to hints on the next Dragon Age and Mass Effect. And in this book, we see what is called a mudskipper. The one in the book is the same one that we see landing on this new planet. And I say new planet, because in the book, it's mentioned that players will see "new worlds to explore". Additionally, the planet itself has 3 moons... keep that detail in your head for a minute.
On this planet, confirmed again by Mike Gamble, there are Reapers laying bare in the snow. As a character walks up one of the defunct Reapers, she finds a broken part of an N7 helmet. And with the winds, reveals herself to be Liara T'soni of the original trilogy.
And to those who want absolute confirmation, the face model for Liara confirmed over Twitter that she is back. However, in this trailer, it's clear that she has considerably aged a bit. She has more noticeably pronounced crow's feet around her eyes and laugh lines around her mouth. Among the community, there's some argument on whether this is simply a higher res version of Liara instead of her being aged. However, I absolutely believe BioWare did this intentionally. The framing of this close-up, with a full focus on a small sliver of the front of her face, feels too deliberate to ignore.
Besides her cape, her suit is much darker than what we've seen her wear in the past, which may add further hint she's in her Matron or Matriarch ages. 350 and 700, respectively. Her mother Matriarch Benezia wore much darker garb, and despite the events of ME1, Liara did remember her Mother fondly. Her signs of aging and maturity gives us a better timeline to work with, as we can surmise this may be at least a couple centuries after the events of Mass Effect 3.
Oh, and if we have to talk about the three in the background, Salarian, Human (judging by the legs, unless they're Prothean), and Krogan. Probably.
Now, what do we take away from this vid? Well, in short, BioWare has its own very large shoes to fill. The Mass Effect trilogy is still a massive, bittersweet tale that resonates in many of its fans. And contrary to some gamer circles, Mass Effect Andromeda was well-liked by way more than a few select. But both have raised questions that were never answered, and I personally think that will be key in garnering fans of both to come back to play a 5th installment.
As the devs have previously stated, Commander Shepard's story is over. It's done. They ended it clearly in the trilogy. However, the effects of Shepard's consequences and the rebuild afterward is still up in the air, especially considering how an ending like Synthesis, which made everyone into a quasi organic-synth hybrid, affects all the survivors of the Milky Way—including Liara.
I'm more inclined to believe that an ending like Synthesis will actually relate to the reality of Pathfinders working and perhaps being melded with AI. The presence of AI was such a huge narrative issue in Mass Effect Andromeda, and it seems that a forced evolution on the Milky Way's denizens may narratively work with the events of Andromeda. If you're a Dragon Age fan, my reasoning for why Synthesis may work is similar to how the Inquisitor can drink from the Well of Sorrows. The bond with the Elven whispers in your mind can simply act as a gameplay perk—a plus—to your character's narrative experience.
As far as why then Liara doesn't have her skin and eyes glowing green may also simply be answered by why we didn't see Leliana's blighted body in Dragon Age: Inquisition trailers—BioWare needed to hide it because of spoilers. It wouldn't be the first time, and I'm sure it won't be the last.
As far as the endings for Destroy and Control, those endings still have a place, despite the death and debris left from the Reaper War. I believe there is enough narrative wiggle room to preserve the players' selected ending... as well as maintain a bridge with the events that happened afterward.
And as far as Mass Effect Andromeda, there are many loose ends that BioWare have deliberately left unanswered. The fate of the Quarian ark after the events of the book Annihilation. The Jaardan race that left the Remnant in Andromeda. But yet, there's something more close to home... The Benefactor, who funded the rest of the Andromeda Initiative, is still unknown. The devs have stated the Benefactor's identity is connected deeply in Andromeda's story, and that Benefactor clearly had enough money to fund the rest of the Initiative. But not only that, was well-informed enough about the Reaper threat and callous enough to kill the original founder Jien Garson over it. Regardless of their intent, it's possible that this Ark 6 in the Mass 5 trailer may be the Benefactor's doing.
Liara is the only person of Shepard's crew we know to have had correspondence with the Initiative, with the last being in 2186. Her, as well as many Asari, live to be about 1000 years old. And regardless of what happens during the trilogy, she stays alive throughout its entirety. She is the link between the original trilogy and Andromeda, and I believe in this trailer, acts as the bridge between those games... and Mass Effect's future.
"On behalf of the crew of the Normandy SR-2, this is Dr. Liara T'soni. Signing off."
That's all I have for now — thank you for watching! Shortly after this video is released, I'll be working on analysis of the the Dragon Age teaser trailer from this year's Game Awards, so keep a look out for that one. In the meantime, take care. I'll see you next time. And Fen'harel enansal.